Devil's tongue, Snake palm, Umbrella arum
Amorphophallus konjac

Family: Araceae

What it is like

A large herb which keeps growing from year to year. The tuber is round and 30 cm across. It produces long rhizomes off the side. These are 50 cm long by 3 cm thick. There is a single leaf. The leaf stalk is smooth and dull pink. It is 1 m long. It has dark green and white spots. The leaf blade is very divided. The blade can be 2 m across. The leaflets are pointed and 3-10 cm long by 2.6 cm wide. The flower stalk can be 1.1 m long and coloured like the leaf stalk. The bract around the flower is broadly triangular and funnel shaped. It is 10-60 cm long and 10-55 cm across. It has a wavy edge. The outer surface is dull and brown-green. with darker green spots. It is red-brown inside. The flower spike is like a narrow cone and 0.15-1.1 m long. It can give off a smell like rotten meat for a few days.

There are about 170 to 200 Amorphophallus species. Root (Fresh weight) Water: 97.4 Calories: 8 Protein: 0.1 Fat: 0 Carbohydrate: 2.3 Fibre: 0.1 Ash: 0.2 Calcium: 17 Phosphorus: 7 Iron: 0.3 Leaves (Dry weight) Water: 0 Calories: 308 Protein: 3.8 Fat: 0 Carbohydrate: 88.5 Fibre: 3.8 Ash: 7.7 Calcium: 654 Phosphorus: 269 Iron: 11.5

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It is less tropical than Amorphophallus paenifolius var. campanulatus. It grows up to 3,000 m altitude in Vietnam. It suits hardiness zones 10-12. In Yunnan.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, Australia, China, Hawaii, India, Indochina, Japan, Korea, Laos, Philippines, SE Asia, USA, Vietnam

How it is used for food

The tuber are used to produce konnyaku, a type of flour used as the basis for many dietary products. It is cooked and dried and pounded and treated with lime. The stalks are stewed as a vegetable. The young leaves are used in tofu.

Cultivated for its edible tuber in Japan.

Edible parts

Tuber, corm, flower stalks, vegetable, roots, leaves

How it is grown

Plants can be grown by seed or offsets. The tubers are planted 15 cm deep.

Its other names

Local names

Bulei, Jia mo, Kembang bangke, Konjaku, Konnyaku

Synonyms

Amorphophallus mairei Levéillé in Fedde; Amorphophallus nanus H. Li & C. L. Long; Amorphophallus rivieri Durand ex Carriere; Amorphophallus rivieri var. konjac (K. Koch) Engl.; Hydrosme rivieri (Durand ex Carriere) Engl.; and others